Akatsuki Kittens
by LunarLeafSoul
Summary: To pay for the crimes they have committed, the Akatsuki have been turned into kittens and sent to a world different from their own. I rated it T for some description and language.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 New Arrivals

Nekki was always in love with cats but he never expected to find so many on such a cold day. It was the middle of winter and he was trudging home through the thick snow from the work. No one else was around on the snow-free sidewalks except for the occasional family going sledding with their kid. Nekki shivered from the cold despite his warm garments. Just as he passed the corner of the street, the young adult heard a strange noise. _What could that be_, he thought. Nekki followed the noise and to his amazement he found a heavily pregnant cat.

"Hey cat, what happened?" Nekki said. The cat looked in pain and it tugged at his heartstrings. "Alright cat, I'm gonna take you home," Nekki concluded. He gasped when he noticed that the cat had a gash along her neck. Nekki scooped the cat up and unzipped his jacket. He placed the cat in his jacket to keep her warm and ran home.

Nekki got out his keys and opened the door to the house. He placed the pregnant cat on a towel he got out of a closet and went to the bathroom to get out a roll of cloth for wrapping up wounds and some something to clean the wound. When the young adult got out of the bathroom, he moved the cat next to the radiator and washed the gash on her neck. Nekki cleaned it up and wrapped the bandage around the cat's neck snuggly. Once the female cat was fixed up and placed on a clean towel, he was shocked to find that the cat was giving birth. He watched as the cat breathed deeply before tensing. The female cat gave birth to the kittens. As the last kitten came out, the mother cat gave a sigh and closed her eyes. Nekki felt for a heartbeat but didn't sense one.

"You did great and I will treat your body with respect," Nekki praised. _But I don't blame her for leaving these kittens after giving birth to them, there are so many_, he thought. He counted all of the kittens and was surprised to count ten kittens. They were all oddly colored as well, not at all like their mother, a silver tabby. _Strange_, he thought. Neko continued to warm the kittens until all of them were squirming around, looking for their mother so they could suckle.

"I'm sorry kittens, your mother is dead. I have to bottle feed you," Nekki said. He stared at all of the kittens. The first one that came out wriggled a bit and the others also began to wriggle. _Good, they're all alive_, he thought.

"I'm going to bring you all to the vet so I know which kind of formula to get for you," Nekki told the kittens as he wrapped them up in a new towel. He walked to a closet by the door and got out an old cat carrier and placed a small blanket inside. Nekki then placed the bundle of kittens into the crate.

As he walked to the vet, the wind picked up and the snow fell heavily. "Don't die kittens. Just a little longer," Nekki said. The young adult finally made it to the vet when it felt like a blizzard had just blown in. He opened the door to the vet. The woman sitting at the front desk was filling out paperwork and when she heard the door open, she looked up.

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked.

"No, I don't but can I make one?" Nekki asked. The woman looked through her papers and peered at the crate.

"What's in the crate?" she asked.

"Kittens. I found their mother in the alley and brought her home. She was pregnant and gave birth after I brought her home. The mother cat died after giving birth," Neko replied. The woman's eyes widened.

"Let's have a look now. We have to check them to see if they have any diseases. Come with me," the woman said. She led Nekki through the veterinary office until they came to a small room with a metal table screwed into the wall.

"The vet, Mr. Hikigen will see to your kittens now," the woman said. She closed the door to the room. A tall, older man with blond hair entered the office through another door.

"Hello, my name is Aka Hikigen but you can call me Mr. Hikigen," the vet said as he held his hand extended. Nekki shook it with a firm handshake.

"My name is Nekki Giniki. Nice to meet you," Nekki said.

"What have you got in the crate?" Mr. Hikigen asked.

"Ten kittens," Nekki answered.

"Ten kittens? That's a lot," Mr. Hikigen said surprised. Nekki nodded. "Tell me how you came across these kittens." So Nekki repeated the story to Mr. Hikigen.

"Well, that's interesting. Who would leave a pregnant, injured cat alone in an alley?" Mr. Hikigen asked.

"I dunno, but I was lucky to have found her or else these kittens would be dead," Nekki replied.

"Well, let's see them," Mr. Hikigen said. He opened up the crate and took out the bundle of kittens. The veterinarian unwrapped the towel they were in and placed them all on the metal table. A few of the kittens mewled while the rest of the kittens squirmed on the table.

"What odd colors," Mr. Hikigen observed.

"Yeah, I noticed that when I was rubbing them. Look at that one, it's blue," Nekki pointed out.

"Hm, and that one has green forelegs. This one is practically red," Mr. Hikigen said.

"What can you conclude about these kittens, sir?" Neko aksed.

"Well, you have unique kittens. Also, all of the kittens except for the indigo and white one is male. That's all I can really say," Mr. Hikigen said.

"But can you get me the formula to feed them?" Nekki asked. He stared at his kittens on the table. They were beginning to whine and mew so he figured they were hungry.

"Yeah, I can get you the formula. Let me get it for you. I'm going to guess that you need some bottles as well," Mr. Hikigen said.

"The bottles would be good, thanks," Nekki replied. "Is it okay if I feed them now 'cause they're hungry?" Neko asked.

"Sure. You know how to feed them?"

"Yup. I've taken care of kittens before."

"Alright."

Mr. Hikigen left the room and in a few minutes came back with ten bottles and a bag of kitten milk formula.

"I'm guessing you know how to prepare the formula if you've owned cats before," Mr. Hikigen said.

"Yeah, I know how to," Nekki replied. He took the bottles with the formula in them and fed the kittens all of them at the same time, placing the bottles between each finger. Mr. Hikigen raised an eyebrow.

"I see you have a lot of skill," he said

"I've raised cats all my life so I know how to feed many at the same time," Nekki said. The kittens were drinking their fill of the formula and one by one they stopped drinking and fell asleep. The young adult stroked a few of them, then put them back into the towel, wrapped them up, and put them back in the crate.

" I could see you to the front desk," Mr. Hikigen offered.

"No thank you. I'm fine," Neko said, turning down his offer. He picked up the crate, opened the door, the door and exited.

"Wait," Mr. Hikigen shouted. Neko turned around to see the veterinarian walking up to her. "Do you by any chance know Naki Giniki?" Mr. Hikigen asked. The young adult froze.

"Why?" Nekki asked.

"She used to come here regularly. You two seem to be similar in personality and appearance. Are you two related?" Mr. Hikigen replied.

Nekki was silent before answering. "She was my sister. Naki…" he paused. "…isn't around anymore." He walked down the hallways leaving Mr. Hikigen, noticing the eerie silence. _I guess no one wants to trudge around in the snow_, Nekki thought. When he went to the front desk the woman was there with her papers again.

"So how much do I have to pay?" Neko asked.

"For the check-up, formula, and bottles? $500," the woman said.

"Okay, do you take checks?" Neko asked. The woman nodded so Nekki got out his checkbook and wrote down the check for them. The woman took the check and went back to her paperwork.

"Thank you," Nekki said over his shoulder as he left.

A couple weeks past and the kittens were now able to see. A few of them were surprised by what they saw while others still didn't open their eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Born Into What World

The firstborn kitten opened his yellow/brown/gray eyes to see that he was in a fleece bed and was surrounded by furry bodies. _What's going on_, he thought. _Who am I, who are they, where am I?_ He turned his head to see someone sitting next to the bed. _Who is he?_ He turned to see the other furry bodies sleeping. _Why do they look so familiar?_ Suddenly, a realization struck him. _I know these furballs but how? I c-can't remember._ He thought hard and then remembered who he was and who these other things might be. _I'm Sasori, and they must be from the Akatsuki with me. But what happened_? He thought for a second and looked around the room. Sasori was in a room with a white wall with a window across from the door.

"Hey you! Check out those eyes of yours," Nekki mused. He picked him up and scratched behind his ears. "You're such a cutie." Nekki put him down in his lap after scratching him.

_Who is this person? Did he just say kitten?_ Sasori looked himself over then realized that he was indeed a kitten. He looked up at the person. They had short dark blue/ gray hair with black streaks and a green eye and blue eye. The person had an Asian look but also an American. He turned.

"Oh look, your brother woke up. How strange, his eyes are magenta," Nekki said.

_Brother? Magenta eyes?_ Sasori was confused by this. _I remember, someone named Hidan had magenta eyes. But he's not my brother_. He looked around to find the magenta-eyed kitten on the person's lap. He had dark gray fur with light gray stripes and on his face what looked like a light gray skull.

"Hey kitty. Wow, you're weird," Nekki said. He began to stroke the kitten and realized he had a necklace with a pendant around his neck. "Now where'd you get that?" Nekki asked. The kitten looked up at her with his round magenta eyes. He meowed then had a shocked expression on his furry little face.

"What the hell is going on?" Hidan meowed. "Who am I?"

"You're Hidan from the Akatsuki and I'm Sasori," Sasori explained to the clearly confused Hidan.

"I- I remember now. THAT F***ING LITTLE S*** BURIED ME ALIVE!" Hidan yowled. Nekki looked down at the little kitten that yowled.

"Well, you have a strong voice. Oh look, the others are waking up," Nekki said. Sure enough the other Akatsuki members were waking up. A brown tabby with stitch-like stripes and tan paws woke up and opened his eyes.

"Look at your eyes! That's… strange. They're red but you have lime green pupils," Nekki exclaimed. The kitten stared at Nekki and for a second. The kitten was appeared to be examining him.

Pretty soon the rest of the kittens were waking up and seeing for the first time. Sasori and Hidan told the others what happened before they were kittens and who they were.

Let me explain what each of them looked like. The way I list them will be birth order as well. Sasori was a reddish tabby with brown stripes and tan face, paws, and tail tip. He had yellow brown eyes. Hidan was as I explained before and I'm not explaining it again because I don't want to. Kakuzu was already explained. Deidara was a pale yellow kitten with blotches and spots of different shades of brown. He had sky blue eyes and long sections of fur over **his** left eye. Not when we're facing him and look into his face. From his point of view. Itachi is nearly black with crimson front paws and white back paws as well as a red and white tail. He has red eyes with three smaller dots around his pupil (a.k.a. his sharingan). Pein is orange with a cream underbelly, paws and tail tip. He also has dark gray spots around his nose, under his lip, and on his ears (his piercings). His eyes were a stormy gray with smaller circles (his rinnagae or whatever it's called). The rest of them aren't in any birth order cause they never died in the manga or anime. Konan was indigo with a pale blue underbelly, face, tail tip, and spots. Her eyes were a green. She also had a flower-like shape next to **her** right ear. Kisame was a paleish blue with a darker blue stripe down his back. His tail is also dark blue. His eyes are white and he has black stripes under his eyes and on his shoulders (his "gills"). Tobi/ Madara is pure black except for an orange spot on **his** right eye and dark brown paws. His eyes are black unless they are sharingan. Zetsu is black and white. **His** right side was black and **his** left side was white. He also has green forelegs and yellow eyes.

"So, we died and reincarnated into kittens and were sent into another world?" Pein asked Sasori and Hidan. They both nodded.

"Isn't it said that when you reincarnate, you forget your past life?" Konan asked.

"We didn't know at first but we remembered later. Maybe we're not supposed to remember," Sasori meowed. While the kittens were conversing, Nekki watched them intently as if understanding their conversation.

"Tobi's a good boy!" Tobi meowed.

"Shut up Tobi, un!" Deidara hissed. He swatted Tobi in the face.

"Senpai's being a meany!" Tobi whined. Deidara began scuffling with Tobi and started to fight with him.

"Owwie Senpai! That hurts!" Tobi wailed.

"Hey stop that you two. Stop fighting," Nekki ordered. He separated them and noticed the kittens were together in pairs. "Strange kittens", he muttered. "Okay kittens my name is Nekki Giniki. I'm going to wait a while before naming you so I can get to know your personalities now that your eyes are open," Nekki explained.

Hidan walked in front of Nekki so that he can see him and yowled, "Feed me d*** it! Get moving, b******!"

"It's you again, with the loud voice," Nekki said. "What do you want, hm?"

"You idiot, he can't understand you," Kakuzu mewed to Hidan.

"F*** you," Hidan said. Kakuzu hissed and Hidan launched himself onto Kakuzu's back. The two of them began to fight.

"Now don't you two fight," Neko said. He separated both of them but not without getting a few scratches.

"Control you tempers you guys," Pein hissed. "Don't hurt our host until we know more about him," he ordered.

"We now know his name is Nekki Giniki," Konan mewed.

"I don't care. I'm hungry, d*** it!" Hidan whined. He walked up to Nekki and bit his ankle.

"You're hungry, eh? Alright." He brought out the bag of formula and mixed it with some warm water. Nekki poured the formula into the bottles.

"Okay, who else hungry?" Nekki asked loudly. He saw a couple of the kittens' heads turn and they all came running over to him. Hidan mewled innocently and pawed at his feet.

"Alright, I'll feed you first since you asked," Nekki said. He picked Hidan up and held the bottle to his mouth. For a second the kitten looked at the bottle, confused. He looked at Neko with his magenta eyes and mewed.

"What? I've been bottle-feeding you guys for a while and now you suddenly dislike it? It's not time for guys to be weaned. A few more days," Nekki explained to Hidan. "Drink up." He pushed the bottle towards Hidan's mouth and the gray kitten reluctantly began to drink. Nekki thought he heard some of the kittens snicker. He saw Hidan give a glare towards all of the other kittens while he drank.

"Now it's your turn, the rest of you," Nekki announced. The other kittens looked a little reluctant but one of the kittens, Tobi, bounced right up to Nekki and started to drink from the bottle. The others began to follow suite and soon all of the kittens were drinking the formula.

"Soon, maybe in a week, you'll start eating solid food," Nekki concluded.

The next week, Nekki said he had a surprise for the kittens.

"It's Christmas tomorrow so you guys behave yourselves while I'm gone," Nekki said. "You know that you have to go in the litter box and you can't scratch the furniture. Also, don't fight while I'm gone. Don't attack the tree either." Nekki opened the front door and left. He closed the door and locked it.

"What's Christmas?" Hidan asked.

"I believe that it's a religious holiday celebrated by a specific religion," Kisame said. Hidan's ears perked at the word 'religion'. Kisame smirked. "I can tell you are interested in this so-called, Christmas," Kisame mewed. Hidan nodded.

"You got that d*** right," Hidan hissed.

"Tobi wants to know what Christmas is!" Tobi meowed loudly. He started jumping around Deidara, who immediately hissed and swatted Tobi.

"Nekki said no fighting," Itachi mewed. He was lying down next to Kisame who was now washing his face with his paws.

"Oh, and you're going to be the goody-two-shoes?" Deidara challenged. Itachi ignored the comment and closed his eyes.

"I agree with Itachi. We should refrain from fighting each other since we don't if this boy may leave us," Pein meowed.

"Then what do we do if we're bored, Pein-sama?" Sasori meowed dully.

"Did he say when he'd get back?" Kisame asked. The kittens looked around to see if any of them knew. All of them had blank expressions.

"That's pretty," Konan purred, breaking the silence. She was staring at one of the ornaments on the Christmas tree.

"What is it? **Looks dumb**," Zetsu mewed.

"Is this tree an offering or something?" Hidan asked.

"Looks expensive. I bet it could be sold for a fortune," Kakuzu mused.

"F*** you and your money," Hidan hissed. He took a swipe at Kakuzu but the brown tabby dodged.

"Tsk tsk tsk. You know better than to fight, little baby," Kakuzu joked. Hidan, enraged, threw himself onto Kakuzu with his claws unsheathed. The two of them were too busy rolling around fighting each other that they didn't notice how close they were to the tree. Hidan backed up into a low ornament and it fell off of the tree and shattered. All of the kittens jumped at the noise.

"Great job, idiot. Now you broke something," Kakuzu snarled.

"Now we know we shouldn't fight. It may break something," Pein mewed.

"No s***, Sherlock," Hidan hissed. Pein gave him an angry stare that quickly silenced the sharp-tongued kitten.

"Let's try to clean it up before he gets back," Konan suggested. The kittens began to sweep up the shattered ornament when they heard the front door open. The kittens scattered and tried to look like nothing happened. Itachi and Kisame pretended to be sleeping in Nekki's sneakers, Deidara and Sasori pretended to chase each other, Tobi played with Zetsu's tail, Hidan and Kakuzu greeted Nekki, while Pein and Konan washed their fur.

"Now what were you all doing while I was away?" Nekki asked as he came into the house with both hands full of bags. He spied the broken ornament on the floor. Kakuzu saw that the Asian American noticed and tried to get his attention by mewling at him. Nekki stared at Kakuzu.

"Oh, I get it. That's why you're all acting like nothing happened. You guys are horrible liars," Nekki said putting the bags down and crossed his arms. All of the Akatsuki suddenly took a liking to their paws.

"Looks like I hit the nail on the head," Nekki declared. "Don't worry, I'll clean it up, it was bound to happen." Nekki walked over to the closet and brought out a broom and dustpan and he swept up the broken pieces of the ornament. He smiled at the kittens.

"You're not in trouble," Nekki assured. He checked the clock. "Looks like it's lunch time. You get to try some solid food today." Nekki brought out a chicken breast from the refrigerator, and watched the kittens crowd around his feet. They watched him shred the chicken and put it into a large dish. Nekki placed it on the floor and watched as the kittens swarmed the bowl.

"I guess you guys were hungry or were tired of formula," Nekki laughed. "Now don't eat too much or you'll get sick." The kittens all mewed at him. He stroked a few of them and they purred while enjoying their meal. Soon, the kitten stopped eating and there was a little chicken left. Neko picked up the bowl and placed the leftover chicken in a small container and put it in the fridge. He saw that the kittens were content with their meal and were now washing themselves and each other.

"Alright guys, I'm going to my room and no one follow me," Nekki said. He picked up the bags and went up the stairs. Tobi started to bound up the stairs until Zetsu grabbed Tobi's tail and dragged him back down the stairs he climbed.

"Tobi wonders what he's doing," Tobi meowed. He bounced around a bit before chasing his own tail.

"Well, at least he wasn't angry at us," Kakuzu mewed. He was washing his face acting really calm.

"That was good chicken, un," Deidara purred as he licked his lips. He looked towards Sasori. "What did you think?"

"It was a little cold," Sasori admitted after thinking a while.

"That was f***ing good chicken!" Hidan meowed. He yawned showing his sharp little kitten teeth then curled up on the rug and fell asleep.

"Let's all get some rest," Pein half mewed half yawned.

"Itachi move over," Kisame mewed nudging the dark kitten. Itachi made a muffled 'uh huh' because his paws were curled in front of his mouth. He moved over a little then began to breath deeply. Kisame sighed because there wasn't much room on the pillow so he lay down next to Itachi and fell asleep.

"Can Tobi sleep with Senpai?" Tobi asked Deidara.

"Can't you sleep with Zetsu, un?" Deidara grumbled. Tobi shook his head. Deidara mumbled something then turned his head away from Tobi. Tobi's ears and tail drooped and he walked away. He decided to sleep under the tree. Soon, all of the Akatsuki were asleep.

When Nekki came down, he saw all of the kittens sleeping in different places. The blue kitten was sleeping next to the black, crimson, and white kitten on a couch pillow. The dark gray tabby was sleeping on top of the brown tabby under the coffee table. The black, white, and green kitten managed to climb into the potted plant pot and was wrapped around the flowers. The orange and cream kitten was curled next to the indigo and pale blue kitten. The black kitten with the orange spot was sleeping under the tree with his paws and tail twitching.

_They look peaceful_, Nekki thought. He ran back upstairs to get his camera. When he came back, spotted kitten was walking over to the red tabby and curled up next to him. The young adult snapped a photo of them and of the other kittens.

After a few hours, the kittens woke up from their naps. Then they heard a shout and a numerous bangs from down the hall. All of the kittens jumped at the loud noise.

"What the f***was that?" Hidan yowled.

"Let's check it out," Pein mewed. All of the kittens were running down the hallway when they saw Nekki breathing hard with a both hands holding one mallet. The mallet was hovering over a smushed, hairy thing. The kittens peered at the pile of guts on the ground and it had a few legs twitching.

"Sp-sp-spi-a spi-a –der-der," Nekki stammered as he shook tremendously. He dropped the mallet and ran down the hall, ignoring the kittens and nearly stepped on Tobi.

"What could have freaked him out like that?" Kisame asked. He looked towards his partner for answers. Itachi looked around the hallway and noticed that a door in front of them was open a crack.

"It was probably from in there," Itachi guessed. He tried to open the door, but it was too heavy for him. Kisame began helping him and soon the door was open.

"Let's go," Sasori mewed. His expression looked bored even though they were going to an unknown place.

"Tobi's scared. Senpai, please protect me," Tobi whimpered.

"No way, un!" Deidara hissed. They all started to jump down the steps when the door suddenly slammed shut. The Akatsuki kittens were lost in darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Walking the Dangerous Road

All of the kittens snapped their head back. Tobi squealed and jumped onto Deidara, which caused them to tumble down the stairs. The other Akatsuki couldn't tell how far they fell because they couldn't see anything but darkness and a few streaks of sunlight. After a few seconds, their eyes adjusted to the darkness and they saw both Deidara and Tobi at the bottom of the stairs, both appeared still. The kittens jumped down the rest of the steps and checked to see that Tobi and Deidara were alive.

"Good, they're only unconscious," Pein mewed. He prodded at them with his paw until they awoke. "Are you alright?" Pein asked.

"Uh, yeah," Deidara mewed groggily. He blinked his sky blue eyes a few times before getting up and giving himself a shake.

"Tobi's scared," Tobi whimpered. He looked around frightfully. Then when he saw a dark shape in the shadows he shrieked.

"What do you see, Tobi?" Pein asked. He looked in the direction that Tobi was and saw a dark shape. Then he heard laughing as Hidan walked out of the shadows.

"Hahahaha! That was f***ing good! S***, I can't believe you f***ing fell for that," Hidan laughed. But Tobi was still looking scared and so were all of the Akatsuki. A few of them arched their backs while others crouched trying to look invisible.

"What? What the f*** are you all f***ing looking at?" Hidan mewed. He felt something brush his tail and he felt his fur along his spine prickle. He turned around and saw a giant, hairy spider looking at him with its many beady little eyes.

"Oh my f***ing Jashin. What the f*** is that?" Hidan yowled. The spider lunged toward the dark gray and light gray. In panic, he rapidly scratched the spider with his tiny kitten claws then retreated with the rest of the Akatsuki.

"That's what shocked Nekki," Sasori mewed calmly but inside he was scared out of his mind.

"What do we do Pein-sama?" Konan asked. She looked into Pein's gray eyes with fright.

"We have to do something about it. We can't have it running around the house," Pein meowed. He turned his orange head towards Zetsu. "What do you know about this spider? Why is it so large?" Pein asked.

"That is a goliath bird-eating spider. **By it's name you can obviously tell what it eats**," Zetsu mewed. The spider began to crawl towards the kittens. It raised its legs in an attacking position (you know like on National Geographic or something when the people poke it with a stick?). The sunset light from the window shone eerily like blood on the legs of the spider. The Akatsuki hissed and arched their backs at the spider.

"Stay back you f***ing b****ing b******!" Hidan. He snarled and hissed at the spider and bared his teeth.

"Hidan, calm down. We don't want to provoke it," Pein commanded. He placed his tail on Hidan's tense shoulders. Hidan backed away and relaxed.

"Zetsu, what should we do?" Pein asked. He turned to the black, white, and green kitten.

"**I suggest we kill it. But I want to eat it after it's dead**," Zetsu mewed.

"Okay then. But how do we kill it?" Pein pressed. He looked at Zetsu with his gray eyes and kept them fixed in an intense stare. Zetsu turned away, obviously pressured by Pein's gaze.

"We need to disable its fangs so it can't inject venom in us. Then we need to get its legs, Pein-sama," Zetsu explained. "**Each of us will attack either a leg or a fang**,"Zetsu instructed.

"Alright, that will work out because there are ten of us," Pein mewed. "Be careful everyone. Konan, go after a leg. I don't want you getting hurt by the spider's fangs."

"I'll handle the other f***ing fang," Hidan growled.

"Akatsuki, attack!" Pein yowled. The Akatsuki yowled in unison and charged towards the goliath bird-eating spider. Pein and Hidan attacked it head on aiming for its fangs. The spider reared up in an attacking position and leapt towards them. They dodged and used their claws to slice the fangs. But their claws weren't strong enough to cut it. The rest of the Akatsuki were attempting to scratch the legs off the spider with no luck. When the spider realized it's legs were being attacked, it whirled around and tried to bite the Akatsuki kittens. They all dodged but Tobi froze in fright and got bitten by the spider.

"Ooooww!" Tobi cried in agony. The spider's fang sank into Tobi's shoulder and he started to wail in pain. "Help me! Help!" Tobi screeched. He fell and his legs were flailing about and his eyes were wide with fear.

"Someone help Tobi!" Pein commanded. He sidestepped one of the spider's attacks. "Hurry!" Deidara sighed as he stepped away from the spider and grabbed Tobi by the scruff of his neck.

"He's a pain in the a** and I don't want him crying to me afterward, un," Deidara mewed through a mouthful of fur. He dragged him away from the battle that was still brewing.

"Attack the joints! ** Idiots!**" Zetsu yowled. He launched himself at one of the spider's leg joints. The leg gave way and snapped and the spider shook its broken limb. Bug blood oozed out of the opening and splattered across the kittens' fur.

"Attack!" Pein yowled. He sprang on top of the spider's abdomen and sank his teeth into it. The spider started to wave its legs around and ran in circles. The rest of the Akatsuki scratched and bit the joints of the spider's legs. A couple of them snapped off. Hidan managed to cut off one of the fangs and was now attacking the remaining fang. The spider hobbled around on its remaining legs, fell, then curled up and died.

"Akatsuki, the battle is over," Pein panted. All of the Akatsuki weren't really wounded but they were tired and covered in the spider's blood.

"Where's Tobi?" Konan asked. Deidara pointed his tail towards the stairs where Tobi was lying down, moaning.

"What do we do, un?" Deidara asked.

"Someone should get the kid," Itachi mewed.

"Good idea," Pein concluded. "Let's all go up, but someone should stay with Tobi."

"I'll stay," Zetsu's white half offered. "**I wanted to eat it**." Zetsu's black half grumbled.

"Fine. Do whatever you want. But the rest of us are going upstairs for the boy" Pein mewed. He clambered up the stairs followed by the other Akatsuki. When he tried to open the closed door, it wouldn't budge. When the rest of the Akatsuki came up, they all tried to open the door.

"F*** this s***," Hidan grumbled. "HEY B*******! OPEN THE F***ING DOOR!" Hidan yowled at the top of his tiny kitten lungs. The Akatsuki kittens waited for Nekki to come open the door but he didn't come.

"That's a good idea. Everyone, make as much noise as possible. That should get his attention," Pein commanded. Immediately all of the other Akatsuki yowled, hissed, and screeched to get Nekki to come to the door. After a few seconds, the Akatsuki stopped to catch their breath.

"I don't think it's working Pein-sama," Kakuzu hissed. "Great idea s***head!" Kakuzu mewed sarcastically to Hidan.

"F*** you, Kakuzu," Hidan panted. He launched himself towards Kakuzu and they both tumbled down the stairs. All of the kittens sighed.

"Do they have to fight here?" Sasori asked. He arched his back and stretched. Hidan and Kakuzu were still fighting even when Itachi and Kisame ran down to break it up.

"Will you two stop already?" Itachi hissed. He glared at Hidan and Kakuzu with his red eyes. "If I had my sharingan…" Itachi threatened. He gave them both a cold stare before turning and climbing back up the stairs.

"I don't give a s*** about your sharingan," Hidan mewed.

"But Itachi's right. You guys shouldn't fight here. We should continue to make noise so that we can be rescued," Pein ordered. He let out a loud yowl and then wailed a bit.

"D*** Pein-sama. I didn't know you could scream like that," Konan meowed.

"Well I sort of have to, to get the boy's attention," Pein murmured. The rest of the Akatsuki started to make loud noises until the door opened and Nekki was in the doorway.

"W-what were you guys doing in there?" Nekki stammered. The Akatsuki kittens mewed at him and turned their heads to the bottom of the stairs.

"Y-you were down there? Wait," Nekki paused. He stood a while to count the number of kittens. He gasped, "Where are the other two?"

The Akatsuki mewed and jumped down the steps.

"D-do we h-have t-to go d-down t-there?" Nekki stuttered. He gulped. _I don't want to go down there, the spider is there!_ The kittens mewed at him and waved their tails at the bottom of the stairs. Nekki grabbed the mallet on the ground and turned on the lights and gasped. He saw all of the kittens surrounding the black kitten with an orange spot. The kitten was flailing about on the floor moaning and howling.

"Don't worry kitten, I'm coming," Nekki said. He walked down the stairs and when he reached the bottom, Nekki almost fainted. He saw the black, white, and green kitten devouring the monster spider. _That's just nasty_, Nekki thought. The other kittens started meowing and pawed at his feet. They ran back over to the black and orange kitten that was now twitching and shaking violently. The young adult scooped up the kitten and noticed a bite wound on his shoulder.

"I need to get you an anti-venom," Nekki said softly but urgently. He cradled him in his arms and rushed back upstairs from the basement. The other kittens followed him. The black, white, and green kitten started to haul the half eaten carcass up the stairs. Nekki shuddered.

"Do you have to bring that?" Nekki asked the kitten. The black half nodded and the white half sort of shook his head. _Cre-e-e-epy_, the Asian American thought. He sighed.

"Alright, you can bring it," Nekki sighed. He carried the black and orange kitten into the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet. He took out a vial with a clear liquid in it. The young adult poured it into a syringe and stuck the needle into Tobi's skin. He squealed for a second then relaxed.

"It's okay kitten," Nekki cooed. He stroked Tobi a while to get him to calm down a bit before placing him on a pillow that he had brought in. Nekki got a towel and put some soap on it and washed Tobi's wound. He saw that the other kittens were watching him.

"Don't worry, your brother will be safe," Nekki assured. He petted the kittens' heads. "He'll be fine by tomorrow. Oh, and I almost forgot, it's also Christmas tomorrow. I've got to get ready." Nekki left to go to his room while he saw the kittens gather around the black and orange kitten.

"Are you okay Tobi?" Pein asked.

"Tobi feels numb," Tobi murmured.

"Okay. At least his injury isn't too serious. Everyone, I need a word with him," Pein mewed. All of the Akatsuki had a puzzled look on their faces but they didn't want to defy orders so they padded away. Once they were out of earshot and out of sight, Tobi's eyes turned red.

"Pein, we can't stay here. We have to get back," Tobi said in a deeper voice than his usual happy voice.

"Yes Madara-sama," Pein mewed. He bowed his head.

"I let my guard down but don't be too concerned. That antidote the boy gave me is working. I'll be fine," Madara meowed.

"Good to hear, Madara-sama."

"You can go. But we need to leave when we're bigger."

"Yes Madara-sama."

Madara's eyes faded to a black and he mewed, "Tobi's a good boy!" Nekki came back downstairs and saw that the kittens had moved into the living room and were playing with the sparkly streamer/rope.

"Well, I see you all like that," Nekki said. He picked up the streamer/rope and twirled it around in front of the kittens' faces. A few of them batted at it while the gray kitten grabbed on. The kittens that were previously playing with the streamer/rope were now batting at the gray kitten.

"Hey! F*** off b******s!" Hidan hissed. He grabbed the streamer/rope with his mouth and scratched any of the other kittens if they attempted to swat him.

"You're the one on the string, un. You're blocking it from us," Deidara mewed innocently. He swatted Hidan when he swung around.

"I think this is more fun than before," Kakuzu teased.

"F*** you," Hidan growled. He scratched Kakuzu when he came around and let go of the streamer/rope and fell on top of Kakuzu. The two of them began to fight.

"Careful you two," Konan warned. It was too late, however, they tumbled into a box of decorations.

"Bah, those fools," Zetsu's white half mumbled. He was still eating the spider that he had dragged up from the basement.

"Ew," Konan mewed in disgust.

"Geez, you guys. You're always fighting," Nekki said. He picked them up by the scruffs of their necks and they instantly went limp. The other kittens' eye's widened.

"How did he do that, un?" Deidara asked.

"Look how he's holding them," Sasori mewed. The Akatsuki kittens all looked at Nekki.

"He's holding them by the scruff of their necks," Kisame noticed.

"So next time they fight all we need to do is grab them by their scruffs," Pein mewed. He walked out of the bathroom and had heard the conversation.

"Pein-sama!" the kittens mewed in unison. They turned their heads to face their leader. "Keep that in mind next time thy start to fight."

"Listen up kittens," Nekki started. He placed Hidan and Kakuzu on the floor in front of his feet. "We're going to decorate the house with, well, decorations!" Nekki said excitedly. A couple of the kittens' heads tilted in curiosity.

"The decorations are in these boxes," Nekki said pointing towards a tower of cardboard boxes. "You guys are gonna tell me where to put them. If you see a spot that's good for the decoration that I have, get to where the place is so I know where to put it," Nekki explained. The kittens' heads nodded.

When they were done decorating, the house was covered in garlands, snowmen, Santas, mini Christmas trees, reindeer, and a bunch of other decorations. Nekki and the kittens were in awe of their work.

"Well, I think we did a pretty bang-up job!" Nekki exclaimed. The kittens meowed in unison. Nekki smiled and picked up all of the kittens and walked over to the kitchen and placed them all on the counter.

"Who agrees with me that it's time for dinner?" Nekki asked the kittens. All of the kittens mewed. Nekki laughed and went up to the refrigerator and opened the door. He took out a freshly caught fish wrapped in plastic. The Akatsuki kittens turned their heads in curiosity.

"Instead of chicken, I'm giving you some fish instead 'cause I figured you were tired of chicken," Nekki explained. He took the fish out of the plastic and took out a cutting board and a very sharp knife. He then prepared the fish. When the fish was scaled and separated from the skin and bones, Nekki got out a pan and some garlic oil and turned the stove on. He placed the pan on the burner and poured some oil on it. After a few minutes, the oil was crackling and Nekki placed the fish on the pan. The fish crackled like fireworks and smelled delicious. The kittens licked their lips in anticipation. He sprinkled some spices on the fish and let it sizzle.

"I think you're going to like this," Nekki said. When the fish was fully cooked, Nekki used a spatula to pick up some of the fish and placed it on a large plate. He then sprinkled some herbs onto the plate of fish.

"Voila! Dinner is served!" Nekki announced. Once he placed the plate on the floor, the kittens swarmed the plate like a school of piranhas. Nekki laughed and put a bowl of water down for the kittens.

"Your eating dinner, and now it's time for me to eat dinner," Nekki said as he picked up the rest of the fish in the pan and put it on a plate. He got himself a fork and dug into his dinner.

"This is some f***ing good fish!" Hidan mewed with his mouth full.

"Must you talk right now? I was enjoying this until you spoke," Kakuzu sighed. Hidan growled at him and continued eating.

"Tobi likes fish!" Tobi meowed. He waved his tail while he ate and bounced in place.

"Just shut up and eat," Deidara mumbled. When the Akatsuki kittens were done eating, they walked away from the plate that still had some fish on it.

"I see that you're done. But you didn't finish," Nekki observed. "That's okay. I can save that for breakfast." He got up and picked up the plate and scraped the leftover fish into a container then put the container into the refrigerator. Nekki cleaned up the kitchen and stove while the kittens gathered around the Christmas tree.

"My little gifts," Nekki whispered to himself when he saw the kittens under the tree. "I'm going upstairs. You're welcome to come up," Nekki told the kittens. He walked up the stairs and noticed all ten kittens following him. When he got to his bedroom, he picked up his pajamas and walked to the bathroom.

"I'm going to change in the bathroom but you guys can go in my room. You don't have to wait for me," Nekki said. The kittens then padded into Nekki's room and got comfortable.

Nekki has a smallish room with a plain bed with blue and green sheets and blankets, desk, bookshelf, and dresser. On the desk was a lamp, little cat figurines, one of those solar powered money cats, and a rack of pens and pencils. On the dresser was a wooden analog clock and a creepy looking lamp.

Sasori, Pein, and Konan had jumped up on the dresser and were looking at the photos.

"These look like his parents, Pein-sama," Sasori mewed indicating the couple in one of the photographs. The woman was wearing a cotton shirt and a checkered apron and the man was wearing denim overalls and a plaid shirt.

"They look like country folk judging by the clothes they're wearing," Konan observed.

"Who's this?" Sasori asked pointing his tail towards the photo of a tall, elegant girl standing next to a young boy. She had a mature look on her face and looked like she was ruffling the boy's hair.

"She looks like she could be Nekki-san's sister and he," Konan mewed.

"I do not think that the little boy is Nekki. His hair and eye colors are different," Sasori mewed. His yellow/brown eyes showed a serious look but his face was still his usual bored expression.

"Maybe we can ask him when he gets out of the bathroom?" Konan suggested.

"Good idea," Pein meowed. He sat down and curled his tail around his paws. Sasori washed himself and Konan sat next to Pein. Hidan and Kakuzu were arguing on the desk examining the cat figurines. Itachi was looking at the titles of books from the bookshelf and Kisame was watching Hidan and Kakuzu bicker. Deidara was examining a cat figurine made of clay. Tobi was playing with Zetsu's tail and Zetsu was pawing at a dust bunny.

"I see you guys are comfortable," Nekki said. His nightshirt was a baggy shirt with two dragons on it with flame designs and a Ying-yang symbol behind the dragons. His boxers were neon yellow. "So, how's it goin' kittens?" The orange and cream kitten was meowing at him as well as the blue and light blue kitten.

"Waddaya want?" Nekki asked. He saw that they were on his dresser and sitting in front of the photos. "Do ya want to know who the people are in the photos? Alright, I tell you guys." Nekki walked over to his dresser and sat on the bed, which is next to the dresser. He slid all of the framed photos onto his lap. Nekki held up the picture on his parents. Kakuzu, Hidan, Itachi, Tobi, Zetsu, Kisame, and Deidara all padded over the Nekki and gathered around his feet.

"You guys probably figured out that these are my parents," Nekki said holding up the photo for the kittens to see. "We lived on a farm before I went to collage and moved. It was great there." Nekki picked up another photograph that was of the tall, elegant girl ruffling the hair of the young boy. He sighed. "That is my big sister. I looked up to her more than anyone. But…" He sobbed and wiped away a tear. "She died."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 This is Christmas

"Eh, no f***ing d*** deal" Hidan mewed.

"Heh, I guess it doesn't seem like such a big deal to you guys. Let me explain," Nekki began.

"Her name was Naki Giniki and she was two years older than me and she was my idol. She was an A+ student and a kind, loving person. She was also an Asian American, like me, and had a bright blue eye and a vibrant green eye. Her hair was dark navy and gray. Naki had a love for rescuing abandoned or endangered animals. One day, she traveled to Australia to help increase the number of numbats, an animal in danger of going extinct. While she was helping, she got to stay at a hotel with a pool. Unfortunately, she did not notice a spider slip into the water. It sank to the bottom of the pool and she put her feet down on the ground and got bitten by the spider. Naki was then rushed to the hospital, but it was too late to save her. She died in the hospital before the family could get there to tell her that she's going to be okay. I never got to say good-bye. Her death struck a big blow on the entire family. Ever since then, I have had a terrible fear of spiders and have to take medication for it and have therapy sessions. As you saw earlier, I have uncontrolled violent breakouts and cannot remember of what I did. The only way I know of what happened when I am in panic is when people tell me. Luckily, I do not cause much damage, but I have been sent to an insane asylum. I found it difficult to fit in with others at school and they constantly bullied me by showing pictures of spiders to me. The purposely tried to get me into a frenzy just to get me in trouble. When I started taking medication, they called me a drug addict and reported me to the authority. To heal my pain, I took in stray cats and cared for them. I took my sister's appearance to try and be closer to her even though she was dead. My hair is actually black, but I dyed it. That is why my hair is striped black and navy. My eyes are actually just blue. This eye," Nekki said pointing to his left eye, "is just a contact lens. No one understood my pain, and continued to bully me. Only one person comforted me in my time of sorrow. She is my angel."

The kittens stared at him when he finished talking.

"I think we know more about him Pein-sama," Kakuzu mewed. Pein nodded his head.

"Well, bedtime kittens!" Nekki announced in mock happiness. He threw the covers up and crawled into his bed. The kittens jumped up and lay down next to the Asian American. He gave them all a forlorn smile and closed his eyes. Tears trickled down his face and Tobi licked Nekki's eyes.

"Thank you," Nekki whispered as he continued to cry himself to sleep.

"I guess this took a lot of courage for him to tell us," Sasori mewed.

"I would have never guessed that he had such a tragic past!" Kisame meowed. Itachi nodded in agreement.

"We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is this so-called Christmas," Pein ordered. One by one, the kittens fell asleep.

"It's Christmas!" Nekki shouted at the top of his lungs. He leapt out of bed hitting the ceiling hard with his head in the process since he jumped so high and he cried out in pain. Nekki fell back down on his bed with such momentum that it caused all of the Akatsuki kittens to fly up in the air.

"OH MY JASHIN! THE F***ERS ARE HERE!" Hidan screeched as he flew in the air. He blinked a few times and noticed that it was just a dream and that he was in the air. "What the f***?" he yowled as he landed on his stomach.

"Will you shut up?" Kakuzu mewed.

"What just happened, un?" Deidara asked.

"Tobi was flying!" Tobi cried. He bounced around on the bed with glee. "Do it again! Do it again!"

"No! **Don't do it again**!" Zetsu cried. He dug his claws into the covers of the bed.

"Good morning guys!" Nekki said cheerily as he rubbed his head. "Sorry for that rude awakening," Nekki apologized as he rubbed a welt that was forming on the crown of his head. He got up and got some clothes out of the dresser and went inside the bathroom. As he closed the door, the Akatsuki kittens were gathering their wits after being bounced in the air.

"What was that all about?" Kisame asked as he stretched his legs.

"Christmas," Itachi answered bluntly.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" Nekki shouted to the kittens as he threw the bathroom door open. He was wearing a green and red striped shirt and brown sweatpants. They were all staring at him like he was crazy.

"These are the theme colors of Christmas. I have some colors for you too!" Nekki said cheerily. He took out some striped ribbons with the same colors as his shirt and tied bows to all of the kittens. They all sat around in discomfort and looked at each other.

"Hm. I guess we'll see how long you can tolerate them. Oh well, Christmas breakfast!" Nekki yelled. He raced out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen where he sliced up some green and red bell peppers and poured himself some milk. The Akatsuki kittens struggled to keep up with Nekki's zealous speed and ended up panting by the time they caught up. They found it worth the exhaustion when they found a bowl of warm fish next to a bowl of cold water.

"This fish is still f***ing good," Hidan mewed. He wolfed down a large amount of fish until Nekki noticed how fast he was eating.

"Whoa, slow down," Neko told Hidan. He picked him up and placed him on the counter next to his plate of peppers with him struggling to get free. "You wouldn't want to be sick on such a fantastic day, wouldja?" Nekki asked. Hidan hissed and tried to jump down from the counter.

"No!" Nekki yelled to Hidan forcefully as he pointed his finger at him. He had a stern expression on his face, his eyes practically burning holes in Hidan's fur. Hidan stopped and stared, giving Nekki an equally hard stare. The young adult suddenly burst out laughing and scooped Hidan up with his hands and placing back with the others.

"He's got character, that one," Nekki said to himself. When he was sure that they were finished eating, he picked up the bowls and put them in the sink. He left his glass of milk on the table where he'd been eating and crunched the rest of his pepper slices. Nekki then walked up the stairs and disappeared.

"That was…interesting," Pein mewed. He washed his face with his paw, and then proceeded to lick Konan's face clean.

"Why did he suddenly laugh like it was no big deal?" Kisame asked. Itachi shrugged. He then attempted to climb onto the kitchen counter by digging his claws into the wooden cupboards. When he got up onto the counter, he was out of breath.

"What are you doing, un?" Deidara asked.

"I'm tired of water," Itachi replied. He stood up on his hind legs and placed his front paws on the rim of the glass of milk that was left. Itachi then tried to get closer to the milk in the cup by sliding his front paws down the inside of glass. The milk was almost reachable with his tongue when his paws slipped and Itachi fell face first. Bubbles foamed on the surface of the milk and Itachi's hind legs were flailing, trying to get his head out of the glass. Kakuzu, Hidan, Konan, Pein, Zetsu, Tobi, and Sasori gathered under the counter to watch Itachi's struggles.

"And he was a f***ing mind rapist when he was a f***ing ninja!" Hidan mused. He laughed manically with a shine in his eyes. "Do you think he'll drown?" Hidan asked.

"Nekki will notice at some point," Sasori mewed. He licked his paw and acted like there wasn't anything interesting going on.

"Help me!" Itachi gurgled from inside the glass of milk. He was thrashing his hind legs and back harder than before. Itachi was obviously running out of air. After a few more jerks, the glass tipped over spilling milk and milk bubbles on the countertop. His body shivered for a second then became still.

"Is he dead, un?" Deidara asked as if it wasn't any big deal.

"I don't know. Someone should check or get Nekki," Pein replied.

"Tobi will get Nekki-san!" Tobi mewed. He bounced out of the kitchen, through the living room, and up the stairs to the young adult's room. Tobi meowed loudly and clawed at his room. Nekki opened the door wearing a Santa hat and reindeer antlers and saw the black and brown kitten with the orange patch's urgent, but still happy, expression.

"What's wrong?" Nekki asked. Tobi bounded away down the stairs, through the living room, and to the kitchen. Nekki followed him and saw all of the kittens surrounding the counter. He looked at the counter and saw the black, white, and crimson kitten in a puddle of milk next to the glass that was now on its side.

"Oh I get it now. Your lucky you did that today rather than yesterday. Otherwise Santa Claus would have given you coal," Nekki said, crossing his arms over his chest. He walked over to the counter, the kittens parting as he crossed the floor. Nekki picked up the sodden kitten and felt that he wasn't breathing. He massaged his chest to get the milk out from his lungs. When that didn't work, he firmly patted the kitten's back. He coughed up the milk and some came out of his nose. Nekki laughed and ran some warm water on the kitten, rubbing his fur to get the milk off. He then used the dishtowel to dry the kitten off the best he could and placed him with the other kittens.

"Ha ha ha! You lucky b******!" Hidan laughed. Itachi glared at him with his red eyes. Hidan just laughed.

"Be more careful next time, Itachi," Pein mewed.

"Of course, Pein-sama," Itachi meowed, nodding his head. He licked his damp fur until it was smooth.

"You bad cat," Nekki scolded, pointing his finger at Itachi. He took a sponge and cleaned up the countertop and placed the empty glass in the sink.

"Did you drink some milk despite falling in it and almost drowning?" Kisame asked Itachi.

"Enough," Itachi replied. He shook his pelt, shaking droplets of water everywhere.

"It's time to open presents guys!" Nekki exclaimed. He ran to the decorated tree and brought out all of the presents under it.

"Come here kittens," Nekki called. The Akatsuki kittens all padded into the living room and sat in a horizontal line in front of Nekki. He placed different colored gifts in front of each kitten. They all got the same amount of presents but some of them were different sizes.

"Now you open the presents by unwrapping the paper and untying the ribbon," Nekki instructed. He watched as the kittens ripped the wrapping paper to shreds and pulled the ribbons and unveiled collars of different colors.

"Well, what do you think?" Nekki asked. He fitted the collars around all of the kittens' necks. "It's about time I name all of you," Nekki said.

"You're gonna to be Sensei," Nekki said, stroking the orange and cream kitten. He looked confused for a second, and then relaxed. The young adult put a gold colored tag on Shidousha/Pein's collar, which was gray.

"You're name is gonna to be Aohana," Nekki said, clipping a tag to Konan's purple collar. She purred at the sound of her new name.

"You're name is gonna be Akame because of your eyes," Nekki said, ruffling Itachi's head fur. He clipped a tag to his red collar.

"You're going to be Same," Nekki said. He looked surprised, and then showed his sharp kitten teeth. He clipped Same/Kisame's tag to his navy blue collar.

"You, loud one, are gonna be named Obake. You're lucky I didn't decide to name you 'Urusai'," Nekki said. He saw the gray kitten scowl and he could have sworn that a few of the other kittens were laughing at him. Nekki took his necklace with the pendant off of him and he hissed and scratched the young adult's hands as he removed the pendant.

"Chill, I'm just putting it on your collar," Nekki said, wincing at the scratches dealt to his hand. The scratches were pretty deep and they were bleeding as well. Obake/Hidan narrowed his eyes at Nekki then watched him closely as he clipped the tag onto his black collar. When he had clipped his pendant onto his collar, he licked Nekki's hand where he scratched him. When the blood stopped leaking out of the wound, he walked away.

"Why, thank you Obake," Nekki said. He scratched him under his chin and he purred while the brown and tan tabby snickered.

"Oh, does the little _pussy_ cat like his pretty little necklace?" Kakuzu mewed in a mocking voice.

"F*** off!" Hidan hissed.

"Why did you lick his blood, by the way?" Kakuzu asked.

"I wanted to give his f***ing blood to Jashin since he f***ing defiled his sacred symbol!" Hidan mewed.

"You're Amime. Don't worry, I'll pet you next," Nekki said petting Kakuzu. He looked satisfied with his name and his tag as the Asian American clipped it to his bright green collar.

"You're going to be Deidara," Neko said. All of the kittens had a shocked look on their faces. "What's wrong? His fur looks like it's covered in mud so that's what I naming him." He clipped his tag to his brown collar.

"Well it makes sense, un," Deidara mewed.

"But it's strange how you look like your name," Pein meowed.

"At least you got your f***ing name! What the f*** is up with my name?" Hidan yowled.

"It fits you," Kakuzu mewed.

"F*** you," Hidan hissed.

"If you guys are done with your conversation, I'm naming you Yakedo," Nekki said to Sasori. He clipped his tag to his orange collar. Yakedo/Sasori looked dully at his tag and didn't seem to mind his new name.

"You, little ball of energy, are going to be Kietsu," Nekki said. Tobi bounced around even when Nekki clipped the tag to his rainbow collar.

"And you're going to be Nibaiki," Nekki said. Zetsu's white half looked pretty happy about his new name while the black half showed no emotion. The young adult clipped the tag to his forest green collar.

"Well, that was the first of the gifts. Let's open the next ones," Nekki suggested. The next gifts were individual bowls for the kittens with their new names on them. The last gifts were cat toys. Pretty soon, all of the Akatsuki kittens were playing with their toys.

"Meh heh heh heh! I'll get you, mouse!" Itachi mewed. He waggled his hindquarters before pouncing on a toy mouse.

"Itachi, are you okay?" Kisame asked as his partner batted his toy around the floor. Itachi wasn't listening and just pounced on Kisame's tail.

"Gotcha!" Itachi mewed excitedly. Every time Kisame's tail moved, Itachi's paw would swiftly pin it.

"What's wrong with him, un?" Deidara asked Kisame.

"I don't know," Kisame admitted.

"Sasori's acting the same way,un," Deidara mewed. Kisame turned and saw all of the normally calm Akatsuki were now acting strange.

"It's catnip," Zetsu mewed. "**Duh**!"

"You guys need to get outside with all of that energy. And look! It snowed last night," Nekki suggested. He picked up all of the kittens in his arms then opened the door. His yard was covered in a white blanket of snow. An approximately one-acre yard was surrounded the small yard. In that one-acre are two maple trees and a vegetable garden. There was also a tool shed in a corner of the yard,

He dumped the ten kittens into the snow then walked back inside the house to put on a jacket and proper snow gear.

"Tobi's cold!" Tobi mewled. He shivered then tried to cuddle with Deidara.

"Back off, un," Deidara hissed. Tobi squealed, then ran off in the snow to Zetsu, who was also shivering.

"OH MY GOD, FROSTING!" Sasori yowled. He jumped into a snowdrift and rolled around in it.

"FROSTING? WHERE?" Itachi mewed excitedly. He bounded after Sasori into the snow and tunneled through it.

"Let's go get some frosting, dear!" Konan mewed to Pein. He didn't get in any catnip despite him being one of the calm ones.

"Let's not," Pein mewed sternly.

"This is just weird," Deidara mewed.

"Really?" Kisame meowed sarcastically.

"I see you're liking the snow. That's good," Nekki said from the doorway. He saw the normally serious kittens rolling around in the snow and he burst out laughing. Nekki then began to roll the snow into spheres.

"What the f*** is he doing?" Hidan asked to no one in particular. The kittens that weren't high on catnip padded through the snow, which was up to their elbows. They had to lift their paws quite high to walk through the snow.

"Hey kittens, I'm making a snowman," Nekki said. He rolled the three spheres of snow on to each other and packed them together. The young adult stared at his handy work then heard a voice calling his name.

"Nekki! Hey Nekki, what the h*** are you doing?" a female voice said.

" 'Sup Yumi. Glad you came. I'm making a snowman," Nekki said. "Hey, kittens. This is my angel, Yumi." He opened the gate in the fence to let Yumi in, but she stayed on the road. Her strawberry blond shoulder length, straight hair that normally points inward towards her neck blew in the winter air. Her full bangs fell slightly over her bright green eyes. Yumi's has olive colored skin blended well with her heavy black eyeliner and a card liege piercing as well as pierced ears. Her business jacket, a black blazer, and her chained necklace with a ruby stone that reaches her chest greatly contrasted the white winterscape.

"Want to help decorate the snowman?" Nekki asked.

"Sure. Here's a hint of what to use; a carrot," Yumi said, leaning over the fence. Nekki looked a little hurt when Yumi said that but quickly recovered by laughing it off. Yumi rolled her eyes and walked into the yard.

"What a pretty girl!" Tobi mewed. He jumped in the snow trying to get closer to Yumi.

"You know you're a kitten, un?" Deidara mewed.

"But Tobi thinks she's pretty," Tobi whined. He mewed at Yumi and she looked down at him.

"You have kittens," Yumi said.

"Yeah. I rescued their mother but she died giving birth to them," Nekki explained. Yumi just looked him strangely and slightly alarmed. "It's true."

"Whatever," Yumi sighed. "What are their names?"

"This one is Sensei," Nekki said indicating Pein. "This one is Aohana," the young man continued indicating Konan. "This one is Obake," Nekki pointing to Hidan. And he continued through the rest of the names. When the Asian American was finished introducing the kittens, Yumi looked at Itachi, who was no longer high on catnip.

"Akame, really?" Yumi asked.

"Cheyah. His name means 'blood-shot eyes'. Just look at his eyes, they're red!" Nekki explained, lifting Itachi up to Yumi's face. She stared into his eyes. He glared at her.

"Is it me or did that cat just glare at me?" Yumi asked backing up as step.

"Probably, these kittens just have human-like personalities," Nekki replied. He put Itachi back down in the snow.

"Okay then…" Yumi said her voice trailing away.

"Wanna come inside?" Nekki offered.

"Eh, why not," Akane said, shrugging. Both humans walked into the house chatting about what had been going on with their lives.

"Come on kitties, time to come inside," Nekki called out the door. The kittens quickly bounded through the snow to the warmth inside the house.

"What's with the paper and ribbons?" Yumi asked.

"Christmas presents," Nekki replied quickly. He then disappeared into the bathroom and brought out a large towel and placed it on the floor and put all of the kittens on the towel. Nekki then began rubbing their fur dry with the towel.

"Oh crud! I forgot to get you a Christmas present! I was so busy with the kittens that I forgot!" Nekki said, with a shocked and obviously embarrassed expression on his face.

"Nah, it's okay," Yumi said waving her hand._ But, seriously, thinking of the kittens before his girlfriend? Nekki is just too spacey,_ Yumi thought.

"Really? 'Cause if you want, I can go to the store and buy you something," Nekki offered.

"Alright, sure!" Yumi replied.

"Can you watch the kittens while I'm gone?" Nekki asked.

"H*** yeah!" Akane said. She punched skyward and then brought her elbow down.

"Glad to see that you're so enthusiastic about it," Nekki said, smiling. He opened the front door, gave them all a warm smile, and left.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Adventures With the Girl

Yumi stared down at the kittens who were sharing the gaze. Is it me, or are these kittens examining me? Yumi thought. She looked at Akame. He looked at her. The young woman looked down at he feet to see Kietsu's bright eyes and happy expression. His tail wagged and he rubbed his head on Yumi's ankle. She pulled a disgusted face and shifted her ankle causing Tobi to drop onto his face. He mewled in protest and was dragged away by Zetsu.

"Do what you want now, because I'm going to do my paperwork, "Yumi told the kittens.

"This girl doesn't know anything about caring for cats, does she?" Itachi mewed. He licked his paws and washed the back of his ears. The strawberry blond saw this and squealed; then, she scooped him up and walked away with him.

"How come Itachi gets to go with the pretty lady and not us?" Tobi pouted. His eyes squinted and the Akatsuki backed away as a jealous aura radiated his body.

"Uh, you okay Tobi?" Deidara asked nervously. "It's just a pretty woman who that Uchiha b****** gets to hang around with!" he meowed with increasing anger. The blond and brown kitten dug his claws in the carpet and growl rose into his throat. Tobi's envious aura dissipated as he peered at Deidara.

"Senpai, are you jealous too?" he mewed. His eyes shone with a mischievous light, and he jabbed Deidara in the ribs. The blond and brown kitten hissed in fury.

"Stop it! Leave me alone!" he yowled. Deidara pounced on the dark cat and they wrestled each other until Yumi came in to see what was going on.

"Will you cats be quiet? I am trying to do paperwork here!" she hollered. Itachi looked at them smugly from where the strawberry blond was holding him. Yumi quickly rushed into the room where she was working.

"Let's she what she's doing in there," Pein announced. He padded towards the sound of pen on paper. The rest of the Akatsuki followed in tow. All of them peered into the room and saw Yumi writing on her documents with Itachi purring on her lap. Tobi and Deidara began to fume at the sight of the black, white, and red cat. Both of them growled in unison.

"Calm down you two," Pein commanded.

"But he's!" Deidara began and was silenced by his leader's hard gaze.

"You really like that woman, kid?" Sasori mewed.

"Kid? What do you mean? I look about the same age as you!" Deidara puffed in annoyance.

"You are a kid if you are getting jealous of Uchiha," the red tabby mewed plainly.

"You're one to talk! I saw you get jealous when you see me with Tobi."

"I was just worried you'll kill the idiot."

"Mm hm. Sure,"

"Hmph, whatever. Well, while you're there probing into my life, I'm going to look at what Yumi is writing."

"Fine, run away like you always do when we're arguing. By the way, art is a beautiful fleeting movement!"

"Will you cats SHUT UP? I'm trying to finish my paperwork for my boss! At least Akame is being quiet!" Yumi screamed. "I think Nekki is being too soft on you guys, you're all big trouble makers and hindrances. I'm going to tell him that and I'm also going to ask him if I can adopt this cutie!" she decided, petting Itachi on the top of his head.

"Not good if she separates out group. I'm pretty sure he would want to stay with Yumi. We can't afford to lose a member here in this world," Pein mewed.

"But how do we convince her not to take Itachi home with her, Pein-sama?" Konan asked. She tilted her blue head in inquiry.

"I have an idea for that b******," Hidan mewed with a malicious grin. He ran towards Yumi and yowled at her. He then to proceeded to clamber onto the couch and he pounced on Itachi. Both of them were knocked off of the strawberry blonde's lap and tumbled to the floor.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" Itachi spat in Hidan's grinning face. The dark and light gray kitten swatted the red-eyed kitten's ears in response with his claws unsheathed. Blood trickled out of the wound and spilled onto Itachi's eye blocking his vision. He stared in horror at his sight and launched himself at Hidan with a yowl. The two kittens hissed and spat with blood splattering the carpet.

"You two are ruining the rug! What am I going to tell Nekki?" Yumi complained. She put her hand on forehead and sighed. "How come I can handle a grumpy boss who makes me work overtime and treats me like a slave and not be able to handle a few kittens?"

"Let me go! Let me go!" Itachi screeched as he pried himself from Hidan's teeth and claws. The knot of fur separated and left the two cats panting and dripping with blood. Hidan had a look of ecstasy on his face, his magenta eyes wide in delight. He had wounds on his ear and flank while Itachi had wounds on his ears, belly, flank, and thighs. The former immortal began to laugh maniacally at the pain in his wounds.

"Oh s***, I have to call Nekki," Yumi gasped as she reached into her purse. Just as she was about to dial the Asian American's number, her phone began ringing.

"Hello? Alright, I'll be there. Give me a few minutes. I'm at my boyfriend's house babysitting his kittens. No, why would I dump him? Well, that is true that he is spacey and a fool. I'm dating him because he treats me like a person, not a robot! I'm not desperate, he's a good person to me. Stop judging my boyfriend! Yeah, I'm backtalking you, get over it!" Yumi yelled into her phone. She clicked on the end call button on her phone with a huff. The strawberry blond then remembered to call Nekki. She dialed his number and listened to the ringing. He picked up in two rings.

"Nya hello?" the Asian American said in a cheery voice.

"Nekki, how do you heal a cat that has deep scratches?" Yumi asked frantically.

"Why? Did you scratch them with your perfectly manicured nails?" Nekki joked.

"I'm serious! Two of the kittens were fighting and now both of them have really deep wounds. Not only that, they got blood on the carpet!"

"Not the first time someone or something got blood on my rug!"

"W-what? Are you talking about me?'

"What? What gave you that idea? I got blood on the rug when I cut my head after falling down the stairs from tripping on those guys!"

"Enough idle chit-chat! How do I heal them?"

"Oh it's easy. First you wash their wounds, then you put a cream labeled 'nekosporin' onto the scratches, and then you wrap them in a bandage. The bandages can be found in the closet above the toilet. Make sure you only use enough of the cream that it covers the wound and that it doesn't have an excess amount," Nekki instructed.

"Okay, thanks kitty," Yumi said.

"You decided to give me a pet name? Cute!" Nekki mused.

"Good bye," Yuki sighed.

"Buh-bye, commander!" Nekki said sweetly, and then hung up. Yumi turned to face the kittens that were looking at her, goggle-eyed.

"Okay, I'm going to treat your wounds and oh my God I'm talking to cats," Yumi said in disbelief. She carefully picked up Akame and Obake and brought them to the bathroom.

"Ugh, my hands are covered in blood!" the strawberry blond said in disgust. She placed the now crimson kittens into the sink and turned on the faucet. Both kittens began to mewl in protest and crawled back into her hands.

"Stop that! You're getting a bath whether you like it or not!" Yumi said scowling. The strawberry blond turned the faucet and washed the bloody kittens despite their cries and adorable kitten faces. She washed them in cold water because it is better for getting blood out of things due to her several experiences. When the red had been washed out of Akame and Obake's fur, Yumi got a towel from a rack and dried them off. Fresh blood smeared the white towel and the strawberry blond snorted in disgust.

"Do you know where the medicine cabinet is, cats?" Yumi asked. Pein and Konan turned and faced the shelves of cat medical treatments diagonal from the sink.

"Thanks…" she trailed. Yumi walked over to the cabinet and plucked the 'nekosporin' and the bandages from above the toilet.

Why does he keep the cream on a different shelf from the band-aids? The strawberry blond thought to herself and rolled her eyes. She roughly grabbed the bleeding kittens and carefully dabbed the cream onto the scratch and bite wounds and neatly wrapped them with the beige bandage.

"There, all fixed up!" Yumi said in triumph. Itachi and Hidan stared at her with sarcastic expressions. Their fur was sticking up at strange angles like fluffy pine trees and the wrapping made them look like mummies in places.

"What? Don't look at me, you little nuisances! I'm surprised Nekki hasn't gone bankrupt from you cats!" she ranted. The strawberry blond continued to say how Nekki really is amazing for surviving this long, etc.

"Why did you guys do that? I think she liked me and now Hidan here ruined that!" Itachi hissed, whirling to face the purple-eyed kitten.

"Well had to do something to break your lovey-dovey s***!" Hidan retorted. He flicked his tail in red-eyed kitten's face, which resulted in an annoyed hiss.

"Enough you two. Hidan was right about ending your bond with Yumi. We made a plan that we should stick together until we figure out how to get back to our world. Do you understand, Uchiha?" Pein instructed. Itachi flinched at his last name.

"Yes, I understand Pein-sama," the red-eyed kitten mewed meekly, bowing his head.

"I'm home guys! I bought you a gift Yumi, darling!" Nekki shouted as he entered the house.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 The Trouble Caused

"Jeez, what took you so long?" Yumi hollered. She dried her hands on a towel and stomped over to her boyfriend with a glare plastered onto her face. Nekki flinched at her gaze and nearly leapt out of his skin when his girlfriend tackled him into an embrace.

"W-whoa Yumi! Um, why the hug?" the Asian American asked, obviously obfuscated.

"You are amazing for being able to take care of all of these cats and I love you for that!" the strawberry blond cried and smashed her lips into his. Nekki's face flushed into a deep shade of red in a matter of seconds. The Akatsuki observed this scene from the bathroom doorway, Hidan snickering as Itachi, Deidara, and Tobi had looks of disbelief on their furry faces.

"Well, all of this romantic business is the best situation for your gift!" Nekki exclaimed after the kiss. He gave her the bag that held the gift. Suddenly, a plastic covered spring gag sprung out of the bag when Yumi opened it, the strawberry blond giving a steely glare. Nekki burst into an uncontrollable laughter, which ended abruptly because Yumi promptly slapped his left cheek with a satisfying smack.

"I figured you would pull a prank like this," Yumi said. Nekki rubbed gingerly at his red cheek, his left eye tearing up.

"Man, you've got at good swing! Just makin' sure you're awake. Open your present," the young man said happily despite being hit. His girlfriend opened the bag warily and pulled out a beautifully wrapped box. She opened the box and revealed a glistening new cell phone.

"I figured your boss called so much that you other phone might explode, so I bought you a new phone. Infinite texting and calls for $10 a month!" the Asian American chirped. Yumi turned to face him and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you the one to be paying this?" the strawberry blond inquired.

"Well, I was thinking I can pay $5 and you can pay $5 per month," Nekki suggested. Yumi shrugged and nodded her head.

"If you ask me, she's f***ing using the b******!" Hidan mewed.

"I think it's sweet of him," Konan retorted.

"Of course you'd think that way. You're a chick," Hidan mumbled.

"I am a different kind of female, you know," Konan hissed, her spine prickling. Pein gave her gaze and her fur flattened.

"Think what you want to think, he's still losing money," Kakuzu mewed unhappily.

"Why are you so upset, un?" Deidara inquired.

"That means he'll spend less money on us!" Kakuzu replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I'm going back to work. I'm going to have to memorize this new number so I can send it to my friends," Yumi said.

"Good idea! Make sure not to give it to the Boss man, otherwise this shiny new phone will explode!" Nekki added cheerfully. He stood mesmerized at the glistening phone.

"I'm leaving now," the strawberry blond murmured, waving her hand in front of her boyfriend's face. He shook his head and blinked a couple times before stuttering a 'good-bye'. Yumi smirked, then walked out of the house. Waiting for the sound of heels clicking pavement, Nekki raced to the freezer and took out an ice pack. He sighed with relief as the pain eased in his left cheek.

"Wimp," Sasori mewed. He began to groom himself by licking his front paws then wiping them behind his ears.

"Tobi's a good boy! Tobi thinks that the slap might have hurt!" Tobi exclaimed loudly.

"Stop talking in third person, un. It's really annoying," Deidara grumbled.

"You stop saying 'un' all the time, brat," Sasori murmured under his breath. The blond kitten whirled to face the red tabby and launched himself into the air with a yowl, knocking the striped kitten onto his back. In self-defense, Sasori pushed Deidara with his hind legs. The two felines clawed and bit each other until Pein gave a sigh.

"Will someone please separate those two?" he mewed. As if he knew what the orange kitten said, Nekki gently pulled the wrestling balls of fur apart.

"Why don't you cats ever stop attacking each other? This is a house of peace," the Asian American said raising his hands and waved his wrists in the air. He places one cat on his right shoulder and the other on the left. Nekki carefully picks up Tobi and plops him onto his head.

"I have to go to work tomorrow, 'kay guys? Yeah, I know. You didn't think I had a job, but I do. Do you guys want to come with me? It'll be an after Christmas day sale and I bet you guys could attract business; of course, that means you'll be wearing adorable costumes!" Nekki explained as the kittens stared at him with horrified expressions. Dumbfounded, Tobi squealed as he fell down the back of the young man's head. In a desperate attempt stay on his owner's head, the black and orange kitten dug his claws into Nekki's head.

"OH SWEET MOTHER OF ZEUS! GET OFF!" the Asian American wailed. He frantically pried Tobi off of his cranium and in the process knocked Deidara and Sasori off of his shoulders. With a swift movement, he caught both cats. Ungracefully on his part, he came crashing down to the linoleum floor.

"Damn it Tobi, why did you have to fall?" Deidara hissed as he shook his spinning head.

"Great job, you annoying brat. Now he's unconscious!" Sasori mewed sarcastically. He prodded his owner's face with his small, fuzzy paw and received not response.

"Now how are we going to be fed, b******?" Hidan cussed. He swiped an unsheathed paw at the black and orange kitten's head. Tobi squeaked in surprise then ran to hide behind Zetsu.

"Enough with that. We need to find a way to wake him up," Pein ordered sternly.

"Who cares? We have control of the f***in' house now!" Hidan puffed.

"Yeah, but he makes money tomorrow so if he doesn't go to work, he won't be able to get food for us," Kakuzu pointed out.

"You and your f***in' money," Hidan growled. "Let's have some fun, then figure out how to wake him up."

"Uuh, how about those that want to have fun, have fun and the rest think of ways to wake up Nekki?" Kisame suggested nervously. He shuffled his front paws and cast anxious glances to the other kittens. The rest of the Akatsuki members stood shocked at blue kitten's recommendation.

"That sounds like a perfect plan," Pein agreed. They all nodded their heads in agreement.

"I'll be in the group that is having f***ing fun!" Hidan yowled. He bounced around and dashed over to the couch.

"Who else will join Hidan?" the orange kitten asked.

"No f***ing way," Kakuzu hissed.

"Guys, I want tot have fun! Hey Hidan, let's see if he has any explosives?" Deidara mewed. In excitement, both kittens dashed off out of the kitchen.

"Please don't burn the house down," Sasori murmured. "I'll go with them to make sure they play within reason."

"Alright. Hidan, Deidara, and Sasori are going to play. Who else is going and who is staying?" Pein asked.

"Tobi wants to go with Senpai!" Tobi mewed. He bounced, skipped, and ran to catch up to his 'friend'.

"I'll go with the fool, he'll probably get himself hurt," Zetsu murmured. The black, white, and green kitten started to pad over to the frivolous cats when Pein intersected him.

"No, I'll need you here to help find ways to wake the boy up," the orange kitten ordered. The tricolor feline glowered at his superior and stalked back to where he was sitting. Pein kept his gaze on Zetsu for a few seconds to assure his dominance.

"Pein-sama, may I go play? I couldn't think of any ideas to wake him up," Kisame mewed sheepishly.

"Sure, go have fun," Pein nodded. The blue kitten darted off in search of the other energetic cats.

"Okay, I am assuming that the rest of you want to formulate a plan to wake up our owner?" he asked the remaining kittens. They all nodded. "Any ideas?"

"Wait until he wakes up?" Kakuzu huffed. Itachi rolled his crimson eyes and snorted.

"You want to pick a fight?" the brown tabby hissed, his hackles raising.

"No, I just want you to think of a better idea," Uchiha mewed bluntly.

"Well, do share your opinion," Kakuzu said mockingly.

"How about we pour water onto his face?" Itachi offered.

"No, we cannot reach the faucet," Zetsu grumbled. The lime-eyed kitten sneered at the black, white, and red cat. The red-eyed cat was oblivious to the negative gaze and flicked his ear to prove his point.

"How about we jump on him?" Konan asked. Zetsu shook his head in disagreement.

"We are too light," he mewed under his breath.

"What should we do then if what we are suggesting is incorrect?" Pein inquired.

"We should try something that can be done easily for our size and ability," the plant cat mewed. "We should first try to use gentle matters, then move into more violent ones. Try mewing in his ears. The sound might wake him up." Konan turned her head, shrugged, and walked over to Nekki's fallen body.

"I cannot tell if he is breathing or not," the violet kitten mewed.

"Oh great. That is just great. Go check then," Zetsu growled. She walked next to the Asian American's face and bent down next his nose. His breathing was a bit faint, but steady as if he was asleep.

"He is still alive!" she yowled. Pein nodded and jerked his head towards the human as his eyelids fluttered.

"Wait, keep yelling like that! He appears to be coming to!" Pein ordered. Konan nodded and began to caterwaul and cry right next to Nekki's head. He groaned, mumbled something, but did not wake.

"You sounded very whiny. Does she do this sort of thing with you, Pein-sama?" Itachi commented. The orange and cream kitten juts gave him a stern look to show that he has said enough.

"Well, that didn't work. Try swatting his face, claws sheathed please," Zetsu sighed.

"Thank you for your help. If you want, you can go keep an eye on the others now. We understand what we can do here," Pein mewed. The plant cat stared surprised at his leader, but decided not to argue and walked toward the sound of thumps and crashes. The orange and cream cat watched him go, and then he turned his head back to the remaining kittens. Just as Zetsu was leaving, Deidara trotted into the room.

"Hey everybody. Do you know how to reach the drawers and open them?" the spotted kitten asked.

"You pull at them. Why?" Zetsu replied.

"No reason," the blue-eyed kitten shrugged. The black, white, and green cat gave a suspicious glance at the other feline before heading into the hallway. Deidara in the meantime was clambering onto the shelf doors trying to reach a high drawer. He managed to pull it open by hooking his claws into the wood and pushing back with his hind legs. With a meow of triumph, he climbed into the cupboard. The spotted kitten's head reappeared a few seconds later with a rubber band in his mouth. Deidara was pulling a box out of the shelf with the band and got a footing on the edge of the drawer door. Unfortunately, he lost his footing and fell onto the linoleum with the box. The blond and spotted kitten then proceeded to pull his prize down the hall. Pein, Konan, Itachi, and Kakuzu watched him go with strange expressions, and then turned their heads back to each other.

"We have a good idea of what we are doing now. First we give him a couple swats. If that doesn't work, should we use harsher methods?" Pein suggested as if Deidara never came into the room and made such a ruckus.

"I don't think we'll have much of a choice with our size and ability," Itachi replied. "We'll have to scratch and bite sometime. It's not like we have choice."

"HEY! WAKE UP AND SPEND MONEY ON US!" Kakuzu hissed. In his rage, he charged Nekki's face and smacked his nose. The tan tabby then scratched their owner's eye.

"KEEEEYAAAAAH!" Nekki screamed as his eyes flew open.

"Well, that worked," Konan mewed.

"Hey, you guys. How long was I out?" the Asian American groaned. He raised his hand to his face and saw blood on his fingers. Everything suddenly appeared scarlet and smelled of cold steel.

"Did you scratch me to wake me up? Brilliant plan if I do say so myself!" Nekki chirped. "But, where are the others?" As if to respond to the question a loud crash was heard and a few meows of alarm.

"What are those idiots doing?' Itachi sighed. A cloud of smoke began billowing from down the hallway. Everyone's eyes widened in alarm as flames began to lick at the walls and carpet. In sheer terror, five somewhat scorched kittens streaked out of the heart of the fire and hid behind Nekki.

"You guys are crazy! How did you manage to set my house on fire?" their owner shrieked. He quickly scooped up the disheveled felines and dashed out of the house.

"Stay here and don't follow me!" he commanded. After setting the kittens down, he ran back into the burning house and was immediately swallowed into the inferno.

"What is you problem? What the heck were you f***ing doing in there?" Kakuzu spat.

"Just lighting some candles and stuff, un," Deidara replied.

"Until a certain annoying ball of s*** decided to f***ing bother us," Hidan hissed jerking his head towards Tobi who seemed to have an interest in the grass.

"Tobi said he was sorry," the black and orange kitten mewled. He forlornly looked at his paws.

"It doesn't matter now. We just need to think of something that could help Nekki," Pein ordered.

"But what can we do? He did say not to follow him," Sasori replied.

"We could get help," Kisame offered.

"You are just full of good ideas today," Konan remarked. The shark-like cat blushed.

"I think we should make as much noise as possible to get people's attention," he added.

"Okay, we need to split up to cover more ground and tell more people. Go in your usual team of two," Pein mewed sharply. The Akatsuki nodded their heads and slipped through the fence with ease, and then took off in different directions each yowling as loud as they could. People on the sidewalks took notice to the strange cats and allowed themselves to be led to the crackling house. The onlookers whipped out their cell-phones and called 911, and asked for them to send a fire truck and an ambulance. The Akatsuki rejoined each other and waited anxiously for the authorities to arrive as the fire hungrily devoured their home.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 The Snowball Effect

Before the fire

"Guys, I want tot have fun! Hey Hidan, let's see if he has any explosives?" Deidara mewed. In excitement, both kittens dashed off out of the kitchen.

"I bet I'm faster than you, un!" Deidara dared.

"No f***ing way!" Hidan hollered. Both cats sped down the hallway and made a left into the dining room.

"Where are we racing too?" the dark and light gray tabby meowed to his opponent. The other kitten just stared dumbfounded. He obviously did not think about that. Lost in his thoughts, the dappled cat did not see that he was going to run into the dining room table legs. Hidan gave him a sneer and veered off leaving Deidara to crash into the wooden structure. The magenta-eyed kitten hooted with laughter and rolled around the floor while the blond kitten rubbed his throbbing forehead.

"You are such a f***ing idiot!" the tabby cackled. Deidara gave him an evil glare and pounced on the giggling kitten.

"Don't call me an idiot, un!" the spotted feline hissed. He bit into Hidan's tail, which resulted in a loud wail. The pattering of paws was soon heard down the hallway as Tobi bounded into the room. The tussling kittens soon ceased their wrestling as the little ball of energy hopped up next to them.

"Tobi is here! What are you doing, Senpai?" Tobi asked. He turned his head in curiosity, but then he saw something a bit more interesting.

"Are those candles?" he wondered aloud. The two kittens followed Tobi's gaze and Deidara's eyes lit up.

"Do you think he has any matches?" the blond kitten asked eagerly.

"I don't f***ing know. Go look," Hidan mewed. Deidara then trotted out of the room and down the hallway. When he was no longer in sight, Tobi looked at Hidan and grinned. The dark and light gray kitten looked away, he was kind of creeped out. His expression contorted into a very disturbed expression. Hidan let out a sigh of relief when he heard Deidara's labored paw steps.

"I'm going to go see if he needs help," the magenta-eyed kitten mewed nervously as he dashed out to help the blond kitten. As he ran out of the room, Tobi's eyes flickered red for a second, then dimmed.

Right of him to fear me, he thought.

"Hey, do you need help?" Hidan asked.

"What do you think, un?" Deidara panted. He stopped pulling the box of matches and took a few breaths though his mouth rather than his nose. After a few long breathes, he gripped the rubber band in his teeth and started dragging it again, Hidan also taking hold and pulling it.

"You know, that b****** is f***ing creepy," dark and light gray kitten muttered.

"Who? Tobi? What are you talking about, un? He's just an annoying pest," the blue-eyed cat replied. Hidan rolled his eyes and returned his focus on moving the matchbox. When they got to the dining room, both felines released the band and flopped onto the floor panting from exhaustion. Tobi bounded up to them and mimicked the way they collapsed.

"Is this how you do it?" he mewed. Deidara just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Now how are we going to get it onto the table? We can't carry the box up, un!" the spotted kitten asked.

"We can grab a match and take the f***ing case up," the dark and light gray kitten mewed.

"Oh, okay! Sounds good, un," the blond kitten nodded. He promptly removed the outside of the box to reveal an almost full container of matches.

"Tobi wants to help!" Tobi mewed excitedly.

"Actually, squirt, how about I help him instead. You can make sure we don't f*** up," Hidan intercepted. Before the energetic kitten could object, the magenta-eyed kitten picked up the other end of the box and immediately started climbing up a chair leg with Deidara. When they reached the seat of the chair, they pushed the box onto the tabletop with the tops of their heads. A few matches fell out and onto the floor. Tobi stared at the dropped sticks and quickly picked them up in his jaws and rushed up the chair.

"You dropped some!" he mumbled through the wood.

"Put them on the table, un," the blue-eyed kitten replied. Tobi threw the matches onto the table. Deidara clambered up onto the tabletop to see beautiful, festive candles on a three-pointed stand. His eyes brightened and he sighed with joy. In a trance, the dappled kitten picked up a matchstick, stuck it on the table, and lit the candles. The flames danced on the wicks and appeared to laugh. Wax dripped down the sides of the candle then hardened half way down. Tobi leaped up and saw his companion gazing at the candlelight. He thought this was a good time to scare the blond kitten and dropped to a crouch. Hidan clawed his way onto the sleek table surface in time to see Tobi pounce on Deidara. The dark and light gray cat cried out a warning to the dappled kitten. The blue-eyed kitten turned and yowled in surprise by Tobis' attack and toppled backward into the candles. The wax sticks shuddered and fell onto the table. They broke as tips hit the edge of the table and fell onto the carpet.

"YOU F***ING A**H***!" Hidan shrieked. He leapt off of the table and onto the floor with a thud and frantically swatted the growing flame. The dark and light gray feline yelped in pain as his sensitive paws pads became burned.

"Tobi, why the h*** did you do that, un?" Deidara hissed as he jumped off of the table. The gust of wind created from the landing caused the fire to grow. It began to engulf the entire room.

"It's too f***ing late to put it out now!" Hidan yowled. He limped out of the room and motioned to the blond kitten to get Tobi who was still on the table.

"C'mon Tobi! Get down here, un!" Deidara shouted. The frightened kitten threw himself off of the now burning piece of furniture and onto the ground. All three cats sped out of the room and down the hall chased by the flames. As they turned the corner, they saw Nekki awake with the rest of the Akatsuki.

Sirens wailed as an ambulance and fire trucks pulled next to Nekki's house. Crowds of people gathered around to gawk and worry as firemen rushed inside the burning house. Water was being spewed from a hose and dousing some of the fire.

"Does this person have any friends or family we can contact?" a woman asked.

"I dunno. He was kind of a strange man last time I saw him, so he probably wouldn't have a partner," the neighbor replied.

"Well, his cats led us here."

"Where are they?"

"There they are."

When the Akatsuki heard themselves being talked about, they turned to look at the speaker. A few people walked over to the kittens and crouched to pet them.

"What are we going to do with them?"

"I don't know. Hey, the firemen came out of the house!" someone cried. Everyone turned to stare at the suited men. One of them was carrying a limp figure covered in soot and ash. Whispers erupted from the crowd of people as a woman in a button down ruffled front shirt and a tight mid thigh length skirt ran as quickly as she could in her high heels though the mob of bodies.

"It's Yumi-chan!" Tobi squeaked with delight. The Akatsuki whirled to face their person's girlfriend as she pushed aside several people trying to see the firemen.

"Get out of the way! That's my idiot boyfriend!" she cried. The policemen attempted to stop her from getting past the yellow tape that was set up, but she just ripped though.

"Hey you're not allowed past this point!" they hollered. The strawberry-blond ignored the police and ran to Nekki who was now on the ground on a stretcher.

"Oh my God, you fool, how did this happen?" Yumi sobbed. The young man lay motionless for ten long, scary seconds. His girlfriend put her hand to her mouth and held back her tears that threatened to spill.

"I never knew you cared so much," Nekki croaked. His eyes slowly opened halfway, he watched the strawberry-blond blink away her tears and some fell onto his charred face. He gave her a brave smile but it appeared to be painful. Yumi brushed his singed hair out of his face. Suddenly, she slapped his cheek and he yelped.

"Excuse me ma'am, but we would appreciate it if you didn't harm the patient," the doctor said calmly. She gave him a death glare, which caused the health care staff to flinch.

"Y-Y-Yumi, don't take your anger out on them. I know you're…upset with me," the blue and green-eyed male gasped. He coughed up some smoke along with some blood. It splattered along his chest and onto his chin. Hidan bounded up to the dark haired male and licked the blood on his face.

"Obake, stop it. That's gross," Yumi mumbled. The magenta-eyed kitten glared at her and continued to lap at the crimson liquid until Nekki's face was clear of it. The other kittens gathered onto the stretcher and nuzzled at him.

"You guys aren't meant for this world. You are much too dangerous for any average person much less a crazy one like me," the Asian American chuckled. The kittens exchanged glances with each other, which caused him to laugh. "Looks like I hit the nail on the head."

"You cannot take your cats with you to the hospital. Maybe you can leave them with your girlfriend," a nurse suggested.

"I am not planning on staying at a hospital because I do not see the need to send me there. My burns are not too severe and my cats and girlfriend need me," Nekki sighed. With a groan, he struggled to sit up, changed his mind, and turned onto his stomach pushing himself up with his hands. His effort ended with him on his hands and knees panting. The Akatsuki scattered from the stretcher. With his hands on the ground, his face was beaded with sweat.

"Sir, you are in no condition to—" a doctor began but was silenced by Yumi's stare.

"It's okay. He's quite durable for his body type," she pointed out.

"Heheh, thank you dear," Nekki sighed. He screwed his eyes shut as he pushed himself to stand. When he did stand, he staggered and almost passed out from exhaustion. Lucky for him, the strawberry-blond was behind him and caught his frail body.

"You really need to work out more," she said gruffly. He smiled with closed eyes and fainted. Yumi sighed and locked her arms around his chest. She readjusted his body so that it would be more comfortable for her to hold him.

"How badly burned his the house?" she asked a fireman.

"It is surprisingly intact and hardly damaged. He must have put out most of the fire before we got him out," he reported.

"Is it safe to be in?"

"I wouldn't recommend it, but all is safe."

Without another word, Yumi dragged her boyfriend into the charred house while the Akatsuki followed suit. After the door shut, an eruption of sound echoed through the town as people gossiped and spoke about the strange couple with the odd cats.

Once inside, Yumi placed Nekki on the couch and went to the bathroom to get a damp hand towel. While she was running water in the sink, Tobi hopped onto the couch next to his owner's head. The dark kitten prodded the young man's face.

"Is he dead?" he asked.

"No you a**h****. Of course he isn't f***ing dead. Now stop f***ing with his face," Hidan hissed. Tobi's shoulders sagged as he lowered his paw and jumped off of the couch.

"What are we going to do if he does die?" Sasori asked. The red tabby turned towards Pein for his answer.

"We might as well run away," the gray-eyed cat sighed.

"That sounds like a good idea, seeing how busy that chick is and how badly she was at taking care of us," Deidara growled.

"She isn't so bad. At least she cares about others unlike some of us here," Itachi retorted. The dappled cat's back arched and he spat a warning to the tri-color cat.

"Are you guys fighting again?" Yumi asked as she walked into the room. "Oh, a different fight. Well, stop it." Both cats stopped within seconds. The strawberry-blond nodded to herself in triumph and continued walking towards her resting boyfriend. She gingerly wiped at his face to clean off the soot and charcoal. The kittens jumped onto the sofa and gathered around Nekki's body. They watched his chest rise and fall rhythmically, but far too slowly to be normal.

"Wake up b******, so your f***ing girlfriend won't have to take care of us," Hidan yowled half-heartedly. He pawed at the Asian American's nose and received no response.

"Are you trying to wake him up, Obake?" Yumi asked.

"NO S*** SHERLOCK!" the dark and light gray kitten hissed. Itachi padded over to him and swatted the magenta-eyed cat's face.

"Leave her alone," the red, black, and white kitten mewed.

"Uchiha, don't get too comfortable here, un. Remember, Pein-sama said we will be leaving once we get old enough and we're growing up fast, un," Deidara scoffed. The red-eyed kitten grew a sudden interest in his paws and his tail twitched.

"Will you quite your blathering and worry about the situation at hand? You brats are so annoying," Sasori muttered.

"He's right you know," Kisame agreed. Itachi and Deidara glared at the blue kitten, who shrank from their condescending manner.

"Hey, do you think those of us who were alive in our world were transported here because of our crimes?" Konan asked.

"I don't believe that s***," Kakzuzu spat.

"You never know. She could be right," Pein retorted.

"Well, then what happens to those of us who have already died?" the red tabby inquired.

"Maybe you go to the afterlife?" Kisame suggested. The dark tabby snorted in amusement.

"You're starting to sound like Hidan," Kakuzu sneered. The blue male flattened his ears against his head in offense.

"You b******s! I'm right f***ing here!" the magenta-eyed cat hissed.

"Oh, I forgot you were there. After all, you are supposed to be dead," Kakuzu mewed.

"I AM F***ING IMMORTAL!"

"Keh, that is so obvious."

"You d*** cats! Just shut up!" Yumi screamed. She looked like she was going to beat them with a wet towel, tear off their fur, and then stick them in a pickle jar. The Akatsuki shot off of the couch and ran from the strawberry-blond's murderous gaze into Nekki's room.

"Better run away," she said under her breath. Yumi turned towards her boyfriend and sat on the sofa where the felines were. Her hand stroked his now clean face and his sooty hair. Suddenly, she found herself leaning forward slowly and holding the back of his head, lifting it up towards hers. Their lips met and she couldn't pull herself away. The kiss lasted for five long seconds before it ended. Yumi stared forlornly at Nekki, stood up, and walked to the bathroom. She replayed the kiss in her head recalling of the taste: ash, smoke, and blood. The strawberry-blond trudged into the bathroom and stared into the sink. A single tear fell, then four, and then a steady stream of tears poured from her green orbs. Sobs escaped her throat and the curious Akatsuki peered into the washroom.

"Aw, poor girl," Tobi mewed sadly.

"Quiet Tobi, un. I can't make out what she's saying!" Deidara hissed. All of the cats perked their ears up and listened carefully. Sure enough, Yumi was talking to herself.

"I know it doesn't seem like it, but I love you Nekki," she whispered in between sobs. "You're the first person who actually cared about me rather than yourself other than my parents."

Then, almost inaudibly, she sighed, "I love you," and broke down with her elbows on the basin. Konan nodded her head towards the hallway and seeing this, Pein nudged the other Akatsuki and they soon padded out of the bathroom leaving Yumi to her words.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 In the End

The air had a feeling of sorrow and moisture to it. Nekki blinked fogginess out of his eyes and head as he awoke. His mouth felt a bit wetter than what he thought it would be. The Asian American coughed vigorously, which brought the kittens running to the sofa.

"Hey you guys," he croaked. They all gave him worried mews and chirps before jumping onto his chest. Nekki grunted from all ten kittens on his abdomen. Konan meowed urgently and leapt off of him.

"What is it, Aoihana?" the blue and green-eyed man asked. She bounded off hurriedly to the guest room and after a few seconds a strawberry-blond emerged with bloodshot eyes. Fresh tears streamed down her rosy cheeks when she saw him.

"You're awake!" Yumi cried as she tackled him into an embrace. "You've been unconscious for a week. I kept thinking you would die any second." she sniffed, while gripping onto his back as though she was afraid he would vanish.

"I'm glad to see you too," the Asian American managed before noticing a plastic tube was sticking out of his arm. "Uum, Yumi? What is this thing?"

"That is a feeding tube," the young woman murmured. "The doctors had a feeling that you would need to get nutrients somehow and put it on you."

"One week?" Nekki exclaimed. He slid a sweaty palm down his face in exasperation. "Have you been okay at work? Has your boss been giving you a hard time?"

"He told me to stay home because I was too 'distracted' to do well," she replied dejectedly. Her boyfriend gasped in sympathy, and then rested his head against hers.

"I'll make it up to you," he cooed and slipped Yumi a soft kiss to her lips. The Asian American placed his hands on her hips while the strawberry-blond in turn caressed his shoulders.

"OH COME ON! REALLY B******S? IS THAT F***ING NECESSARY?" Hidan yowled. He rolled his magenta eyes and let out an annoyed growl.

"F*** off, b****!" Kakuzu hissed as he swatted the sharp-tongued cat across his snout. The dark and light gray feline recoiled with a snarl, raising his hackles in a ferocious stance.

"Okay, okay! We'll stop!" Nekki chuckled. He ruffled the top of the quarreling cats' heads while they mewed in protest.

"Hey, b******! Don't f***ing mess up my head!" Hidan spat. Pein padded up and silenced him with a stern stare, and then cast a surreptitious glance towards Tobi who gave a curt nod.

"It was time we left. We should find a way to get back and forget about all that has happened. Forget our attractions to these people and move on," the orange cat ordered. His gray eyes bore into every member of the Akatsuki's. The message had to be made clear that they must leave.

"But how do we leave Pein-sama, un?" Deidara asked, clearly annoyed with the leader's suggestion.

"We leave the way we leave," Pein mewed curtly. The dappled feline wrinkled his nose at how vague the response was.

"Whatever you say, un," he muttered under his breath.

"That means we have to say goodbye to Nekki and Yumi-chan forever!" Tobi wailed. He whimpered next to the sky-blue eyed cat. His paws half-heartedly batted at Deidara's tail, and he did not even flinch when the blond and brown feline hissed then withdrew his plume. Itachi lowered his head and avoided Pein's hard stare.

"Have you all learned your lesson?" Nekki asked them. The Akatsuki stared dumbfounded that he knew that they had wronged. Even Yumi was surprised.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. The Asian American gave her a reassuring smile, and then knelt to his paroles.

"I knew from the day that you were born that you were special. You all had a reason for ending up here and I have a feeling on what it is. The world where you existed rejected you either because of death, horrendous crimes, or both. To compensate for your sins you were sent here to learn a lesson. I hope you have learned it because you are all too dangerous for this world. I have a feeling that the universe where you belong will welcome you back if you accept your wrongdoings and learn to be better people," he preached. His eyes glittered with a confidence that was hardly seen.

"You are totally insane!" the strawberry-blond yelled and threw her hands up in exasperation. Nekki chuckled in understanding then turned back to the Akatsuki.

"Hey, I'm smarter than I look!" the blue and green-eyed man exclaimed humorously. He stroked all of their backs individually before standing up. "Now think on that for a while. Go ahead and think outside but stay inside the fence," he said as he opened the door.

"Let's discuss this in his yard," Pein ordered. The Akatsuki filed out of the doorway into the crisp snow. The dry air filled their nostrils with strange yet familiar scents.

"It's hard to believe that that serious speech came from the dopiest of people, un," Deidara mewed. His ear flicked in amusement.

"Don't tell me after all of the time we spent with him, you've grown attached to the boy," Itachi chided. He twitched his tail and narrowed his eyes in false sympathy.

"You're one to talk Uchiha b******, un!" the dappled cat hissed, his hackles bristling. The black, white, and crimson feline crouched in a fighting stance, his muzzle curled in a snarl.

"Shut up you b****es! S***, you two f***ing b**** like Kakuzu and me!" Hidan growled.

"Really, brats. My head is already pounding with the anticipation of your arguments," Sasori mumbled.

"This is unlike you Itachi. Normally you keep quiet," Kisame mewed cautiously, flitting his eyes nervously.

"Thank you for your input, but we have more important matters to discuss. What Nekki said seems to be true. Do we all understand that we need to change our morals?" Pein asked. His gray eyes scanned the faces of his comrades.

"Pein-sama, you feel sorry for killing Jiraiya-sensei?" Konan purred. Her mate said nothing his expression as still as stone. After some time, he gave a response.

"Our time with him has indeed changed me. I regret what I had done," orange and cream cat replied. With great surprise, the Akatsuki gasped as their leader became enveloped in mist snaking up his forelegs. It began to thicken as it made its way to his torso.

"Feel the guilt and change!" Pein yowled before the mist completely took over his body muffling his last word. The violet female cried out in alarm as he disappeared with the fog.

"PEIN-SAMA!" she caterwauled.

"Holy Jashin, the b****** was right!" Hidan meowed in horror. Nekki and Yumi burst outside in time to see their orange feline vanish into vapor. The Asian American smiled in understanding, yet tears still fell from his eyes. He wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and held her close to reassure her that this was the right thing.

"Go on you guys, you heard the boss," the blue and green eyed man ushered.

"We need to catch up. I really don't like this form," Zetsu growled.

"You can't leave that way, you have to understand you- ack!" Kisame started before fog curled around him. The blue cat yelped in fear as the mist enveloped his entire existence and disappeared.

"I suppose I can't blame Grandma Chiyo for making me wait," Sasori shrugged. Small specks of vapor dotted his paws and made its way up his legs. The red tabby sighed and mewed, "What I did was wrong and I think I knew that even at my death. I guess that's why I hesitated." The fog quickly took over his body and he disappeared.

"To leave I have to give up Yumi, un? Heh, I can do that 'cause she is all looks, un! I have to admit, it was fun blowing stuff up but I wouldn't have hurt innocents if Uchiha b****** hadn't corrupted me!" Deidara mused. Itachi growled, narrowing his crimson eyes.

"I can't put all of the blame on that jerk though because I did enjoy all of the destruction. I'll admit it, I did a bad thing, un. The best fate for me is to be dead since I am a danger anywhere, un," the dappled cat sighed. Like the others, he too vanished. One by one, the Akatsuki discovered their reason to change and become better beings and went back to their world. All who was left was Tobi.

"Strange how you're the one who's left," Nekki joked. He winked at the black and orange cat while Yumi was left fumbling to figure out what passed between the two organisms. Like an inside joke, Tobi flashed his eyes red before joining the others.

"They'll be fine now and we can live life as normally as possible with them in our hearts," the Asian American assured. Slowly, he ushered his girlfriend inside their house with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes."


End file.
